Sheikah Survivors
by amberxgayle
Summary: The unexpected twist on who Sheik is, and how he came to be. I'm not giving anything away, so you might as well read because this is a good one.. And not what you're expecting!
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: This is just kind of a test to see if this story will have potential. I just had a theory and wanted to see where it would go. Please please please review and let me know what you think!**

A gust of wind caught the warriors silver hair and whipped it around her face as she stood above the blood stained field. Her hair, drenched with sweat, stuck to her hard face as she examined the macabre. Crimson seeped through her sapphire and pale uniform, but wounds did not hinder the Woman of Stone. She looked over the field littered with bodies of all races. Even small Kokiri children here and there, who must have been caught in the battle on supply runs. The scene was gut wrenching, but Impa had seen it all before. This was not her first battle, and it was far from the last war.

She was the only woman standing amongst the dead. The remaining of the races had fled before the final horn blew, signalling that the King had claimed his throne.. That the Triforce had been sealed under his protection. The war had been fought. The war had been won. The King now promised peace between the people of the Towns, Forest, the Red Earth, the Desert and the Shadows. The Sheikah fought valiantly, even as the bodies cloaked in blue and silver decorate the field, Impa felt pride in her people who refused to flea until their race was the last standing on the battle field.. even if only one remained.

Impa passed the body's, recognizing faces as she made her way for the village below the mountains. She would meet those who had taken refuge in the caverns, those too young, or too weak for battle. Together they would lay to rest the fallen warriors with pride, and bury them with honor in the catacombs of the Shadow Temple.

Entering the vast caverns, the torches flickered dimly over the corpses of the patrol guards, fallen at their posts. She Sheikah woman's face hardened even more; the Caverns had been compromised. Impa bounded through the halls, hurdling bodies that lay in her path. The faces looking up at her were stricken with fear, expressions forever unchanging.. Faces she recognized. Impa's blood boiled and her heart pumped faster as she drew nearer to her chambers. She stopped to see the door busted half open. She could not move, she could not speak.. Her thoughts consumed her and taunted her with images of the scene she might find beyond the mangled door.

The truth within the chamber brought her to her knees beside the body of the seventeen year old blond Sheikah. A dagger was plunged deep into his chest, somewhere between his rib-cage. Blood ran over his chapped lips, down his neck and into a puddle on the stone floor below his broad shoulders. His forearms were slashed from blocking a sword without armor.

He was not prepared for a fight..

When he coughed, Impa moved a shaky hand and caressed the boys flushed cheek. "My boy.." She stammered, tears welling in her ruby eyes. "My child, what have they done?"

The boy drew and unsteady breath, opening his blood shot eyes just enough to see her leaning over him in tears. "Sheikah.. we do not cry Mother. You taught me that." He spoke, his words hardly audible as blood threatened to choke him. He swallowed and blinked. "We bleed, but we do not cry. Drops of blood, the blood of our fallen enemies will replace our tears, and life will be restored."

He weakly nodded to Impa's pouch. She knew just what he meant as she acquired an empty bottle. He'd spoken the words of a true Sheikah. "Sheik-"

With a bloody hand he gripped his mothers arm, and with the last of his strength and his final breaths he spoke his plea: "I missed my chance to protect the Royal Family. If a time ever comes when you need me, use my blood as paint.. Paint the symbol of our people and I will answer. Quickly, before it is too late." Impa hurriedly brought the mouth of the bottle below his neck, allowing a few drops to fall inside. She corked the bottle and set it beside her, watching as her son perished before her. "Until then, I will serve the Goddesses with pride. Farewell.. Mother."

His arm fell limp, and his eyelids dropped. As his chest drew still, the boy laid to rest in the puddle of red. Impa could hardly make out his face through the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. The notorious Stone Faced Sheikah was stricken with grief.

With hands and knees soaked in her sons blood, the Sheikah warrior stayed at her sons side through the night. She waited for any survivors to come to her the next morning. To see that she and her son had made it.. to receive news from the war front. But no one came. Impa was alone. She was the last of the Sheikah race; a race that had been compromised and slaughtered. Impa, the only Sheikah who survived the Hyrulean War.


	2. Chapter 2

****Authors Note** Please leave reviews! I hope you're liking this story!**

**Chapter Two**

"It is all my fault!" The Princess cries as she sits on the edge her guardian's satin bed. She buries her face in her hands as she weeps.

"Stop that!" Impa says, crossing over to the young girl. She was so fragile.. so young. The only way to keep her safe was to bring her back to the Caverns.. The place Impa had thought to have left far behind when she chose to stay at the Princess's side at all times without a race to lead.

"M-my father.. He's gone and it's all my fault.. And Link.. oh I never should have sent him to the Temple!" Impa places a hand on the girl's shoulder and forces her to look up from her hands.

"The fault of your father's death resides on neither you nor I. He did not believe our tale of caution. The only way to save you from the King of Evil's grasp was to release the Triforce.. and pray it fall into the right hands." Impa gestures to Zelda's right hand, where the golden triangle of fate has left its mark. "Link is destined to be the Hero of Time. You and I both knew this the moment he made his way into your courtyard.. He will right the world."

Sniffling, the blond girl nodded. Her lip quivered as she tried to pull herself together. "What will come of my people? If I must hide.." Impa looks down somberly, and the Princess feels her throat knot. "We cannot hide.. We musn't! While everyone else suffers! How long must we wait before-" Impa holds up a hand to silence the girl.

"Seven years.. It will take seven years for the Hero to come of age. Until then you must hide and pray your people know well enough to take refuge outside of The Market.." Impa explains, knowing full well it is more difficult than she can imagine for the small girl to comprehend. "Have faith, child."

"I do." Zelda whimpers. "My people.. it feels as though there is a dagger in my chest. I pain for them.. and I feel the guilt upon my spirit even if it is not my burden.." Impa stares at the Princess for a moment, then stands abruptly.

"Rest Princess. You will find my bed to your comfort.. It has not been slept in for ages." Without another word, the Sheikah crosses over to the door and exits the room. Closing the door behind her, she has to glance at it twice because her mind plays a trick, and she swares to see the door mangled like it once was.

Deep within the Caverns, the Sheikah finds the shrine. On top of a tall, stone pedestal is a bottle filled with red. She climbes the stone steps, and kneels before the shrine, the Symbol of the Sheikah engraved just below her.

"My son." She whispers, bowing her head. "Sheik.. " Saying his name brings a familiar feeling to the room. She may very well imagine the ghostly figure.. but for the past decade she often finds herself speaking to the ghost, and it becomes harder to believe that he is not real.

"Is it time?"

The Sheikah woman nods, looking up to face her son as he crosses from the far end of the room. Impa rises to one knee, and looks to him. "I believe it is.. The Triforce has been separated as the Goddesses willed. The Princess, The Boy of the Forest, and the Gerudo King have been chosen.. Zelda must hide, and the boy must sleep for seven years.. In that time the King will reign evil over the land.. I can feel it."

The blond boy nods, crossing his arms over his bloody chest. "In seven years, the ritual takes only six... I can hide the Princess better than these cavern walls.. If she accepts, my spirit will become one with hers, and I will stand again.."

Impa nodded. "Yes my son.. It is my duty to protect the Princess. Soon the Gerudo King will find us.. I came to you to ask for your permission.. To do what must be done to save her life.. To protect Hyrule." Sheik paces over to the pedestal, and runs his hands over the glass bottle. He looks over to his mother.

"I accept."


	3. Chapter 3

****Authors Note** I'm really glad you guys are liking the story so far! I'm trying to keep a little to the canon. But otherwise let me know what you think! Please leave reviews it feeds the fire of inspiration!**

**Chapter Three**

"It will hurt." Impa says to the Princess. "You are certain that you wish to procede?" The Princess nods, holding out her palm for the Sheikah.

"It will protect me.. and when the time comes I can protect my people and aid the Hero too.. I will do whatever I must." The young girl holds her head up high, her voice is strong, and Impa knows her words are true.

"Very well." Impa leads the Princess to the center of the stone platform where the Sheikah crest is engraved. With a steady hand Impa grabs hold of the bottle on the pedestal before the Princess. The Sheikah dips a thin brush into the bottle, and the Princess straightens her palm. Impa eyes the Princess once more, and the girl nods. The blood feels warm against the girl's hand as Impa paints the crying red eye, and she speaks the words:

"With this blood of a fallen warrior, I pray the Goddesses wake his restless spirit. Bring his spirit forth, and let his blood course through the veins of this child. Bring him life, and bring him justice. His purpose was never achieved, let him live and give what he is meant to give. For Sheikah tears are replaced with the blood of our fallen enemies."

The symbol seems to burn through the Princess's skin. She winces in pain, biting her lip and tries to handle the pain. She falls to her knees and screams. Her blood boils in her veins, and her skin crawls.

"Princess!" Impa shouts, suddenly aware of how painful this may be for the girl.. Impa had never seen the ritual performed, only been taught of it.. She was so blinded by having her son back that she became so careless with the Princess.

"I can handle this!" Zelda shouts. Mentally, the girl is more than prepared, but physically she gives in. The Princess of Hyrule colapses on the stone platform and falls into a six year slumber as the Sheikah boys soul latches onto hers.

* * *

The Princess wakes with a gasp in a dark room. She fights the blankets wrapped around her to free her arms. Impa places a hand on the girls shoulder as she sits up quickly, and offers her a glass bottle filled with fresh water. The Princess takes the bottle and gulps desperately, water running over her chapped lips and spilling down her chin. A few drops cascade down onto a thin, cotton sleep gown she wore now.

"I knew you would be thirsty." Impa says in a calming voice. "You have slept for six years. Today marks the day you would wake, and you're right on schedule. Hyrule has fallen into Ganondorfs clutches. I cannot hide from you that many suffer.. but there have been few casualties.." Impa smiles. It is nice to talk to someone after so many years of silence at the Princess's side. The Sheikah still holds true to her image, for her race does not age quickly.

The girl hands the bottle back to Impa, and collects her thoughts. "Link.. he-"

"He still sleeps in the Temple of Time. For another year he will reside there.." Impa explains.

Zelda pushes the covers aside, and looks over her form as she stands. She's a bit weak on her feet, and Impa offers to support her but she waves her guardian away. "Just give me a moment.." She says, looking down over her form. As of now she would be well into her sixteenth year, and her body has changed quite dramatically. the height difference throws her off a bit as she walks over to a mirror, and stares at the strange woman staring back at her. "The ritual.. did it-"

Impa steps up beside her and touches Zelda's hand. "There's only one way to find out.."

The Princess understands and glances at her palm. The place where the red symbol was painted in Sheik's blood is replaced by what looks like a scar in the same shape. She brushes her fingers softly over the mark, then takes a deep breath and closes her eyes willing the boy to take control.

There's a flash in the room, and where the tired Princess once stood, now stands a tall handsome Sheikah. His scars make him look older, but his boyish eyes show that he is only a lad. He looks down at his scared arms, and glances up to his mother, his Ruby eyes just as she remembered. "It worked."


End file.
